Easton to install credit-card parking meters on Monday

The meters are part of a 90-day trial of new technology catering to coin-less customers.

Easton plans to install 38 parking meters on Monday, like the ones in the…

November 08, 2012|By JD Malone, Of The Morning Call

Parking meters in Easton will soon add plastic to their diets.

On Monday, at 38 spots along Seventh and Washington streets near the Northampton County Prison and Courthouse, the city will test new parking meters that consume both quarters and credit cards. The meters are part of a 90-day trial for meters the city hopes to install next year through the downtown and other locales.

Mayor Sal Panto Jr. has talked for most of the year about rebooting the city's parking ordinances, investing in new technology and catching up to the trend of paying for just about everything with a debit or credit card.

The city plans to spend $140,000 on about 200 credit-card-accepting meters and a trio of parking lot pay stations next year. The investment, partnered with rate increases and other ordinance tweaks, could bring in an additional $235,000 in revenue annually.

Panto's parking proposal raises the hourly rate from 50 cents to 75 cents, though credit-card meters will require a minimum transaction of $1. The credit card minimum helps recover a fee the city pays per transaction.

Beyond ease of use for customers, and improved reliability, the meters also better capture parking revenue. The meters will know when a parker leaves a spot, and reset themselves. They may also make scofflaws more likely to pay since many people today carry plastic, and are willing to use it, even if they lack cash or coins.

Other proposed changes in Easton's parking will be lengthening the time limit for meters from two hours to three — though meters in Centre Square will not be affected — and extending paid parking from 6 to 8 p.m., reflecting solid crowds at the city's growing collection of bars and restaurants.

The meters are the same as units in service in Bethlehem's downtown, according to Panto. The parking lot pay stations — to be used in the S. Third Street, Joseph's and N. Third street lots — will also use the same manufacturer as those in Bethlehem.

Panto and city administrator Glenn Steckman floated other proposals, like eliminating free parking on Sundays, but that was met with some resistance from City Council. Council member Elinor Warner inquired about motorcycle or scooter spots being incorporated in the new plan, and Panto said the city would look at where such spots could be added without deleting automobile spots.

Plans call for the city to buy meters in March, Steckman said, and install them in waves where the city thinks it will get the most bang for its buck. Steckman said credit-card meters will not supplant all of the city's 936 coin-operated meters. In many areas, the new technology wouldn't be used enough to justify the investment.

Starting Monday though, the hunt for quarters in ashtrays, under seats and the linty recesses of pants pockets will end for coinless customers near the courthouse.